UNODC, American Embassy, INL partner to Strengthen Capacity of Nigerian Correctional Service in the North-Eastern States

In it’s resolve to boost the efficiency of the Nigerian Correctional Service in the Northeastern states of Nigeria, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Office
Nigeria (CONIG) with its partners, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and the United
States Embassy and U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs (INL) marked the official launch of the project: ‘Strengthening the Capacity of the Nigerian Correctional Service in the North-Eastern States’.

With 71% of an overall prison population of 71,584 being inmates who are awaiting trial and
the reported rise in violent crime across Nigeria, the intervention is timely.

The 3-year project, which is funded by INL, aims to assist the NCoS in building sustainable
capacities in selected main facilities in the North East to ensure safe, secure and humane
custody, taking particular account of the special situation of pre-trial detainees and the need to enhance the provision of rehabilitation and/or social reintegration support for all prisoners.

Also in light of its geographical focus, the project will encompass detainees and prisoners held
for an (alleged) association with Boko Haram and include tailored interventions for this
particular category. By doing so, the project will build on the extensive experience and tools
which UNODC has developed over decades to assist countries in managing their prisons
systems in line with international standards and norms.

Building sustainable rehabilitation and reintegration capacities of the NCoS, including with
regards to the management of VEPs, will ultimately ensure that inmates are treated in line with their human dignity, and can support themselves self-sufficiently upon release, thereby
reducing recidivism and the risk of Boko Haram and professional criminals of recruiting new
followers from amongst the (former) prison population.

Genuine efforts have already been made by the Nigerian Government and the NCoS to meet
the Nelson Mandela Rules, particularly through the passage of and early efforts to implement
the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019. With the support of the Presidential Committee on
Corrections Reforms and Decongestion as well as state Attorneys General and Chief Judges, the NCoS was able to successfully present the cases of roughly 3,000 inmates for release in a bid to decongest the prisons in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic.

The service, under the leadership of the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa ficmc mni, has strengthened partnerships with international partners such as the UNODC .

For a better society